In Harry Omens, which future character are you most enthusiastic about writing? Or which interaction with Aziraphale or Crowley?
Oh there’s a couple of those.
(1) Voldemort.
There will, eventually, be a confrontation with Mr Evil McNoNose. He will see precisely, in exact detail, how much he screwed up by continuing to attack Harry.
(2)Sirius and Lupin
In short:
Sirius: Oy that’s my godson.
Aziraphale: We can share you know.
Crowley: Nuh uh! Finders Keeper!
Sirius: I am dubious about trusting Dumbledore in light of new information.
Crowley: Nvmind I like you now.
Lupin: Could someone please explain what the heck is going on?
How essential is it to have watched Merlin before reading the final fic? Or is some knowledge about it (gained through Tumblr osmosis) enough?
It’s really, REALLY not essential.
Merlin was visually lovely, full of the most absurd anachronisms, and riddled with plot holes to the point where I wonder if they let a bunch of cats write it. On catnip. The good stuff, not the cheap supermarket brand.
I’m hopefully filling in all the blanks so readers can enjoy the fic without watching the show, especially since it’s a modern AU. One of my betas, @catscraftsandcommentary, hasn’t watched the show, and @leavesdancing has only watched a few episodes.
Also, @leavesdancing has done an AMAZING genealogy/history of the Pendragon Royal Family, which has held the UK throne since before any reliable recorded history.
But if you’re interested, there’s info under the cut, along with some pics and links...
In the show, Arthur starts out as an entitled, spoiled, bullying asshole (forgive the quality, but https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQXEqfKU5jQ is his first encounter with Merlin). He develops a conscience, learns to trust Merlin... and then reverts to being 10x worse. This has led to some truly glorious, epic fix-it fics.
Arthur and Morgana are half-sisters. Arthur’s mother is Ygraine, who died giving birth to him, and Morgana’s mother is Vivienne, who also had another child, Morgause, leading to a complicated line of half-siblings. Here’s Arthur, Merlin, Morgana, and Morgause, in order from left to right (note that Arthur, Merlin, and Morgana are all around the same age):
In the fic, Morgause is from the Netherlands.
The dragon, Kilgharrah ships Merlin and Arthur something fierce. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKL7q6yb8ME )
Kilgharrah is also played by John Hurt, who played the War Doctor in Doctor Who. This is the inspiration for Kilgharrah’s eccentric wardrobe in the fic (minus the sonic screwdriver).
Gaius is Merlin’s uncle and the Court Physician. In the fic, he’s also Q’s father and the Royal Apothecary, which is a legit position in the British Royal Household. In both, he has magic, though in the show, he doesn’t dare use it without great need.
By the way, when someone uses magic, their eyes usually (but not always) change color. For Merlin and Druids in general (I think?) it’s gold.
In the show, Nimueh is a High Priestess of the Old Religion who does some fairly erratic things, and then Merlin kills her. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rhViLkTKbY )
Guinevere is awesome. In the show, she’s not noble -- she’s Morgana’s servant. The more Guinevere and Arthur fall in love, the more revealing her dresses get. Again, NO LOVE TRIANGLE IN MY FIC. She ends up with Lance, and any crush she and Arthur may or may not have doesn’t turn to angst and misery.
The show introduces knights who are prominent in mythology, only to kill them off ten minutes later. The core of Arthur’s knights pictured below, from left to right (and note that everyone but the two guys on the ends are standing on boards or boxes to make them taller, HA):
Percival: In the show, he kind of wanders in out of nowhere, as Lance’s huge pal, and helps Arthur reclaim the throne after Morgana conquers Camelot. He’s huge. Like, mountain huge. This is why he gets the short sleeved mail shirt.
Gwaine: Spelled Gwaine, not Gawaine, he’s absolutely awesome. He loves drinking, tavern brawls, and women (and Merlin - LOTS of Gwaine/Merlin shippers out there), and while he verges on being That Creepy Guy around a woman he likes, he also can (eventually) take no for an answer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRe5vj3VIcg He’s like the puppy who you take home from the shelter only to find out he’s a purebred, and even though he ate your sofa, you still let him sleep on your bed because he’s just that cute. The show turns him into comic relief in later episodes, which is really a disservice. If you watch one episode of the show, watch Gwaine (season 3 episode 4).
Lancelot: Not of noble birth, actually ends up being a cage fighter at one point (season 2 episode 4). The show includes a love triangle. I don’t, because I hate love triangles when polyamory is right there as a perfectly good solution. He’s played by Venezuelan actor Santiago Cabrera.
Arthur: The royal prat. Merlin really wants to turn him into a sheep. This isn’t specified in the show, but he does suggest that if someone wants to kill Arthur, he’d be delighted to help them.
Elyan: Guinevere’s brother, son of a blacksmith. He really didn’t get as much of a spotlight as he deserved.
Leon: The oldest of the knights, who served Uther before serving Arthur.
In the show, Mordred starts out as a Druid child who’s caught up in Uther’s anti-sorcery vendetta. Merlin, Morgana, and Arthur help him escape, but it all goes wrong.
In the fic, Mordred shows up a bit older, affiliated with Nimueh, but still looking like a sulky teen/twenty-something.
There’s also the Blood Guard, an order of warrior-priests skilled in magic and combat, sworn to protect the High Priests/High Priestesses of the Old Religion.
In the show, Cenred is a king who Morgause uses to get her hands on his army before she kills him. He’s played by Tom Ellis, who also plays Lucifer, which amuses me to no end. In my fic, he’s Morgause’s brand new husband.
The only other thing the fic really references is the Great Purge, which is the period in Uther’s reign when he went mad and ordered the execution of anyone even suspected of association with sorcery. In the fic, the Great Purge happened so long ago, it’s been forgotten by history -- but not by the Druids, who’ve kept the memory alive in their stories and warnings. They are, in fact, prepared to never let it happen again.
The fic (sadly not the show) also features two borzoi.
And references to sheep, including Merlin’s favorite, the Lincoln Longwool.
Chris has, thankfully, gotten them their own room with a double bed. “This is definitely an improvement from the bunk beds I had to deal with other years,” Viktor declares as they set their suitcases onto the bench at the foot of the bed.
Yuuri throws open the closet door, hangs up his and Viktor’s garment bags with their tuxes for the Christmas Eve gala. “Think they’ll have an iron somewhere?”
“I dunno.” Viktor laughs. “They’ll probably find it tomorrow, though, when everyone’s in a crisis over last-minute wardrobe malfunctions.”
Yuuri chuckles, turning to watch his fiance flop down on the bed, his arms open in invitation. He goes willingly, tucking himself up in the comforting circle of Viktor’s arms, and looks up at the low ribbed ceiling with its little antler chandelier. “Think those are real?” he asks.
Viktor hums. “What kind of deer has antlers that tiny?”
“Point.” Yuuri yawns at that moment, feeling the exhaustion from the travelling and the jetlag sneaking up unexpectedly on him. They’d flown over from Saint Petersburg, so the time difference isn’t as egregious as it could have been, but still, Viktor’s arms are comforting and warm, and the bed is very soft --
“Yuuri, you know falling asleep right now is going to be bad for your sleep cycle,” Viktor’s voice reminds him gently. Yuuri’s eyes snap open, and he quickly sits up in bed, scrubbing at his hair. Viktor chuckles, sitting up with him and cupping his face in his hands; Yuuri shivers a little at the feeling of Viktor’s thumb run along his cheeks.
“I’m... I’m going to go take a shower,” he declares, extricating himself from Viktor and grabbing one of the towels conveniently set out for them on the armchair by the window. Outside, the sun is at its midday zenith, shining brightly over a vast alpine valley below. Between the stalwart pines, Yuuri can barely make out the faint traces of chimney smoke from the nearby town and ski resort nestled down in the valley’s heart.
He feels more than sees his fiance coming up and grabbing the other set. “I’ll join you,” Viktor says, voice tickling Yuuri’s ear, and Yuuri shivers in spite of himself.
14, 25, 37 and 78 for the Unual Asks thing please :D
14. Live anywhere where? Why?I’ve thought about this before, and it kinda depends? I really liked Finland, I have this vague notion that I’d love Iceland, but I really don’t know because I’ve never lived anywhere else for longer than a month. I guess really the answer would be “Why live anywhere when I could live everywhere?” As for why...I mean...why NOT take the opportunity to travel around the world on a whim?
25. Socks colour?
At the moment, I’m not wearing any because I’m at home and socks are an abomination. Earlier though I was wearing cream-coloured socks because it’s traditional with a kilt.
37. Read a lot? Favourite book?
Yes? It depends on what you mean by “read”. If you count audiobooks, then yes, I read or “read” for around 5-10 hours a day because I listen to audiobooks pretty much my entire work day. If not, then probably not that much really, because I mostly actually read read on the bus to and from work. My favourite book? I haven’t read it in a long while, but I think it’d still be New Finnish Grammar by Diego Marani. It’s a novel and it’s not reeeeally about Finnish grammar, even though it does come up as a sort of recurring plotpoint (although you needn’t know any grammar to understand what it’s talking about).
78. Sleep with door closed or open?
At the moment, neither, as I don’t have a bedroom. My flat is just a studio, so just the one big room and a bathroom off in the corner, pretty much. I do leave the balcony open most of the year to let a breeze in though, so there’s that?
tanouska replied to your post: Ik moet iets nieuwe breien. Ik lees te veel...
Yes! A muts is like a beanie (or other model) thing you wear in winter for a warm head and ears. A hoed is more like the fancy things made of felt and stuff ^^
Hi! For the end-of-year ask:
- What’s the fastest time it took you to read a book?
-Did you DNF anything? Why?
- I have gotten really into novellas the past few years, and there are definitely a few this year that I finished in one sitting. The most recent one is The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz.
- Yes, I have no qualms about DNF'ing books that aren't working for me. Life is too short to force yourself to read books you don't like! My most recent DNF was The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo; I didn't realize when I went in that it's a Great Gatsby retelling, and as I've never read The Great Gatsby (and aren't particularly interested to), I wasn't really getting much out of it.
Hello stranger who I'd like to get to know better. What is your favourite meme of the last few years?
Hahahaha :D You are one very hilarious stranger.
Ummmm difficult question. I love rickrolling and I love how universally useful the Distracted Boyfriend and Confused Maths Lady are. But I think my "favourite" is always a bit in-the-moment. Special shoutout to all the chaos the Dress managed to create all those years ago. :D
